Clin Orthop Surg.  2010 Jun;2(2):125-127. 10.4055/cios.2010.2.2.125.

Separation of the Tip of a Coblation Wand within the Knee Joint: A Complication of Arthroscopic Adhesiolysis

• Kim Y
• Kim HK
• Yoon JR
• Muzaffar N
• Kim TS
• Shin YS

• KMID: 1719340
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4055/cios.2010.2.2.125

Abstract

Coblation devices are now widely used in arthroscopic surgery and they show a very low incidence of intraoperative complications. We experienced a case where the tip of the wand separated and migrated into the posterior knee compartment in an arthrofibrotic knee. The free wand tip was identified and then extricated from the popliteal hiatus of the knee with using C-arm fluoroscopic control. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind involving coblation wands. We describe this complication to show that the use of coblation devices can lead to unexpected problems and it is imperative to inspect all instruments before and after each surgical use.

Keyword

Arthroscopy; Complication; Coblation wand

MeSH Terms

Arthroscopy/adverse effects/*instrumentation
Catheter Ablation/adverse effects/*instrumentation
*Equipment Failure
Humans
*Intraoperative Complications
Knee Joint/*surgery
Male
Middle Aged

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 C-arm image of the wand on the lateral view of the knee joint.

• 

  Fig. 2 Visualization of the loose wand tip through the arthroscope.

• 

  Fig. 3 Photograph of the loose tip and the coblation wand.

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